Sending E-Mail in Netscape

Quick Reference

To send e-mail, click on the To: Mail button. The following screen will appear:

Fill in the e-mail address of the person you want to send a message in the Mail To: box. If you have more than one address to send to, seperate each address by a comma. If you want a copy of this message sent to someone, put their e-mail address in the CC: box. Type a short description of the e-mail in the Subject box. If you would like to attach a file or document to your message, hit the Attachment button, and search for the file you want to attach. In the window at the bottom of the screen, type your message. When you are finished with your message, click on the Send button.

Customizing the "Mail To" Screen

On the Mail To: screen, drop down the View menu:

This menu shows all the fields that can be included on your Mail To: screen. The checkmarks indicate the ones that are currently selected for view. Additional fields that can be chosen and have not been discussed:

Reply To - to reply to a different address than the one the message was sent from
Mail Bcc - or "Mail Blind Carbon Copy" - allows you to send a carbon copy of the message without listing the other addresses that are to receive it
Newsgroups - allows you to post the message to a newsgroup
Followups to - lists the name of the newsgroup that is sent the replies to your message

Reply and Forward

To reply to an e-mail message, highlight the message listing and hit the Re:Mail button. The send mail screen will appear, with the person's e-mail address filled in, and a copy of their message to you. Type your reply, and hit the Send button.

What if someone sent you a message and carbon copied it to 5 other people? If you want your reply to go to everyone, use Re: All.

If someone sent you a message, and you want to send it to someone else, you can forward the message. Hit the Forward button, type in the new recipient's address, and type a brief introduction or note in the message window. When you are done, hit the Send button.

Deferred Delivery

If you do not want to send your message immediately, then drop down the Options menu and select Deferred Delivery. When you now hit the Send button, the message you wrote goes to the Outbox. You can send the message(s) in your Outbox in one of two ways:

By using the Send Messages in Outbox command under the File drop-down menu.
By answering "Yes" to the prompt when closing Netscape Mail. (If you answer "No", the message(s) will be saved until your next session.)

This feature can be useful. You can write a message, change your mind about it, and delete it before it is sent. Also, you can write all of your messages while not being logged on. Log on, send out all your mail at once, and log off again, saving valuable log-in time and phone tie-ups.

Signature File

Some people use a "signature file", which is added to the end of their e-mail messages. It can be a title and company name, a witty quote or saying, a poem, or anything that signifies you.

To create a signature file, use a text editor (such as NotePad) or a word processor (such as WordPerfect, Word, AmiPro). Create a file that contains what you want to use for your signature. Save the file AS A TEXT FILE.

Now go to Netscape Mail, drop down the Options menu, and select Mail and News Preferences. Choose the Identity tab. There is a Signature box. Either enter the file name in this box, or use the Browse button to search for it on your hard drive. Click OK.

All mail being sent out will have your signature file attached to the end of your message.

Address Book

Netscape has an address book that you can use to store e-mail addresses. Much like your typical address book, you can add, edit or delete names and addresses at will.

From the Netscape Mail screen, pull down the Window menu. Click on Address Book, and the Netscape Address Book will appear. Pull down the Item menu, then click on Add User.

In the Add User screen, you can add a new name to the Address Book, with a nickname, the e-mail address, and even a description of who this person is. Once the information is entered, press OK. Enter as many names and addresses as you like. If you need to edit one of these entries, highlight the entry from the main Address Book screen. Drop down the Item menu, and select Properties.

You can use the Address Book in one of two ways:

Open the Address Book and click on the person you want to send a message. The To: Mail screen will come up, with that person's e-mail address. Type and send your message.
Click on the To: Mail button. Click on the Address button in the taskbar. Highlight, with your cursor, the person you want to send a message. Click the To: button, then click OK. The To: section will be filled out with the correct address. Type and send your message.

The address book can become invaluable when you start to correspond to a number of different people. Just as it is hard to remember everyone's phone number, so it is with remembering e-mail addresses.

Bounced Back Messages

As long as everything is filled out correctly, and the servers are functioning correctly, your message will be sent successfully. Of course, in the real world, that doesn't always happen. If your message is "bounced back" to you, check one of two things:

The e-mail address is correct and was typed correctly.
The server of the person you are sending it to is not "down".

These are the two most common problems, and should be checked first before looking for a more "complicated" solution.

Is Netscape Mail the only e-mail program? No. There are many different e-mail packages out there, all with the same basic fundamentals and some unique specialty features. Move on to the next section on Eudora Light, and see what features that package has to offer.

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